Lovegrove, MR, Knapp, RA, Duncan, EJ orcid.org/0000-0002-1841-504X et al. (1 more author) (2020) Drosophila melanogaster and worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) do not require olfaction to be susceptible to honeybee queen mandibular pheromone. Journal of Insect Physiology, 127. 104154. ISSN 0022-1910
Abstract
Eusociality is characterised by the reproductive division of labour; a dominant female (queen) or females are responsible for the majority of reproduction, and subordinate females are reproductively constrained. Reproductive constraint can be due to behavioural aggression and/or chemical cues, so-called queen pheromones, produced by the dominant females. In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, this repressive queen pheromone is queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). The mechanism by which honeybee workers are susceptible to QMP is not yet completely understood, however it is thought to be through olfaction via the antennae and/or gustation via trophallaxis.
We have investigated whether olfaction is key to sensing of QMP, using both Drosophila melanogaster- a tractable non-eusocial insect which is also reproductively repressed by QMP- and the target species, A. mellifera worker honeybees. D. melanogaster are still capable of sensing and responding to QMP without their antenna and maxillary palps, and therefore without olfactory receptors. When worker honeybees were exposed to QMP but unable to physically interact with it, therefore required to use olfaction, they were similarly not reproductively repressed. Combined, these findings support either a non-olfactory based mechanism for the repression of reproduction via QMP, or redundancy via non-olfactory mechanisms in both D. melanogaster and A. mellifera. This study furthers our understanding of how species are susceptible to QMP, and provides insight into the mechanisms governing QMP responsiveness in these diverse species.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Journal of Insect Physiology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Eusociality; QMP; Queen pheromones; Oogenesis; Olfaction; Maxillary palps; Antennae |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Oct 2020 11:55 |
Last Modified: | 08 Oct 2021 00:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104154 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:167022 |
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